


(ironstrange) endgame

by shangjunman, Sphinx



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hurt Stephen Strange, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, POV Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 23:49:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19038058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shangjunman/pseuds/shangjunman, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sphinx/pseuds/Sphinx
Summary: Tony Stark knew it all on Titan. He went from infinity war to the endgame in his mind. And he decided to return to Earth firstly.





	(ironstrange) endgame

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [残局算尽](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/486796) by sphinx. 



> This is a Fanfic written in Chinese and translated by someone（me） who is also not a native English speaker but is in her second year of high school in the UK.My friend Sphinx sent this to me after I ship ironstrange. I was so moved when I got the email. I decided to return the favor by translating it into English. Please forgive me for some awkward translation.

“He did it.”Nebula said.

So Vision is gone, just like Peter, just like the sorceror.

The Sky over Titan was red as blood, burning his eyes with it. The temperature was too high, even for Tony Stark, it burned his soul.

He was waiting for himself to burst into foam, for any part of him to begin to disintegrate, but he was not granted such mercy by the 50% probability theory. Or is it simply Thanos does not goes back on his word? With six infinity stones, Thanos can do anything. The bad news is, he's still alive.

That was close. That was so close --

He needs his fucking team. He needs the old Zombie captain to hold up a flag or something and lead the whole team, not some damn makeshift mess. Speaking of which, where the fuck is Steve Rogers? Under the wings of the Mother Hen of the King of Wakanda, some underground heroes peck the eggs of the bad guys? Liars. Thanos sees the universe as a Thanksgiving Turkey that can be cut in half and thrown in half.Look at what the avengers have unleashed against the greatest supervillain of all time: A teenage high school kid who should be living the school life without a care in the world, a surrender principle juggler, and Tony. Screw everything up forever. Stark, this is the perfect plan for the avengers.

He didn't blame star-lord, star-lord or not, it was all the same, and when they discussed the course of action, Tony knew clearly that such a team couldn't be one in fourteen million, he just couldn't bring himself to admit it Tony Stark doesn't throw in the towel because he has to. 

He blamed himself. He knew. Tony had a hunch. His fucking hunch worked. Back in ultron's Day, he had a hunch that's the endgame, and sure enough, above that Wormhole, it was the end of the earth. He handled it so badly that if the company went bankrupt even a middle manager with such a scheme would be fired by Stark Industry the same day. He'd be a living, walking, breathing mistake.

No, Tony can barely breathe, he's terrible at breathing, maybe there's not enough oxygen on Titan's surface, maybe he just doesn't like it. Who the hell knows.

Tony's hand made a vain attempt to reach up into the air, he couldn't reach anything, Titan didn't even have wind, who knows how the dust... part of Peter broke off in his arms, he couldn't hold on to anything. Is it molecular gone, is it atomic disappear, or is it quantum Planck length? Einstein should come out of his grave and see this. He can't look back.

His mind was blank and, at the same time, overloaded with information. What's He gonna tell May? I lost your boy because I took him to outer space. I never looked back, and I took the kid to another planet? Complete asshole words. May, I lost Peter, just like you -- and, as a punishment, he's going to lose more. Pepper, are you there? Where's Roddi? Where's the captain? WHERE'S NATASHA? How many avengers are left? What about North America? ... Earth?

Tony has foreseen countless doomsday scenarios,. Thanos may not be as creative or as dark as he thinks they are, but when that happens... he just can't handle it. Panic swept through every bone in his body in an instant.

No, no, no. It can't be Pepper. Pepper is his life. Tony survived 1 in 100,000. He couldn't have survived 50%.He lost his parents, he lost Jarvis, then even Vision. He lost Peter Parker just now. he can't accept to  Pepper, Rhodey, Happy. Just... just not like this. Not Rogers, not Bruce, not Natasha, not anyone he had ever trusted as a teammate……It's his mistake. It's his fault. System error. The power of 2 is simpler than the simplest of Tony Stark's supercomputing brains, but for the first time he seems to have fallen into the abyss of mathematics, which he fears for its simplicity and Beauty As if it were a poisonous beauty snake.

The probability that he would lose everything at the same time was, for the moment, 1 / 16777216; his calaulation could not go any further; it was too great. It's just... It's too big. It's too small at the same time. The cruelty of mathematics lies in its beautiful symmetry. And that's the probability that he has all of those things at the same time.

Tony rolled to his feet and staggered several times. The pain made him stand more firmly.

No, this can still be fixed. There has to be something he can do.There must be some way.

“Tony, there is no other way.”

How long had Stephen Strange's voice been in his head? He just kept hearing it, and he knew it was his straw. He just couldn't put the blame --

Tony turned his head to stare at a huge, empty mountain wall, but he knew what was there, a Neurosurgeon who is always been up on his high horse. Damn it, Stephen was his type, he knew what a sorcerer meant.

After all -- if he saw 10 million possible endings, why would Tony Stark hand over the time stone? He was no weakling, and Thanos let that octopus, darling, eat pieces of Stephen Right in front of him, nor would he give half the universe away between his thumb and forefinger. Starks don't beg for help from the bad guys, they don't depend on it for a living, and who has the right to turn the train upside down and trade a big number for one? Tony's not GONNA do it unless he gets a win. The merchant of death never trades at a loss. But come on, that's also what doctors do . Wouldn't Dr.Stephen Strange have cut out the normal tissue during the operation to prevent the cancer from spreading? A skilled doctor should be a genius on bargaining.

“Tony, there is no other way.”

His brain has always been very good at simulating the sound of the crisp pieces hitting the board, he whispered, mimicking the rumble of thanos And the sound of Thanos in his head -- as if sitting across from him is the owner of the  green Time Stone: "Checkmate. "

He seemed to hear the master's typical accent of a higher education graduate. The world is coming to an end and he is still talking in slow fucking motion: "Ok, you win. I give my seat to Tony.Stark, spare his life, and I give you the time stone. "

Tony was watching Thanos leave his seat as a winner in his mind：“No tricks.”

Of course, he understands. He knew it from the first time, from Stephen made the trade, or even earlier. "One. " Because the emotions in the mage's eyes were too complex and too simple for him to understand. Thanos knows that, and it's funny how little he cares about fighting ants from the Earth. He survived Stephen's begging and transaction. Starks never counts on that. MERCY of a super villian. The cloaked magician has given him the most important information. From the beginning, he has been the key, or at least an important truning point to break the situation. He is the King of the chessboard, the GATTACA of a dangerous game, so important that the mage would give half the universe to let him survive, survive to the moment that really matters sacrifice -- come on, he really understands this. The look in Strange's eyes. Someone is dead because of you. The young man who should have had his youth in MIT, his mother said, "I blame you. "

The mage had abdicated his position as a chess player, and his intentions were as clear as crystal.

Tony was gratified of the tacit understanding. The Stark's arrogance has been metabolized into every cell of his body, replacing the constant pain. At least for now, he has the best anesthetic. He's got so much more to offer. His worthy is equal to a time stone. Tony walks up to the edge of the cliff, picks up a sharp edge of gravel. Maybe he's a little too shaky, the silent one,  Nebula -- she's Tony Stark's favorite type, with the texture of the machine and the kind heart and all that, it reminded him of Jarvis and Vision ——Nebula rushed over and took him by the shoulder. "Are you okay? " He asked

“Always.” 

He clenched the sharp stone of his hand and resolved to turn back to the spot where he had just risen and find a smaller, rounder piece. Peter is not such a tough nut as the wizard . 

Tony points to the piece: "This is where the kid left -- I had to get something for his family. " I wonder if may is still here...in earth. Damn it, Tony, Peter Parker is just 15 years old, what have you done -- he opens his hand , "The weird doctor is here. Three came , go with three. Aren't you going to get something from your partner... something as a keepsake? "

The Nebula said in Tony's most familiar inorganic voice: "My brain is digitally stored. " Then he heard the sadness. "No matter how clearly I remember them, I'll never get them back, never. "

"Don't feel bad, little  Smurf, " Tony patted her on the shoulder. He wanted to hug Nebula. Tony always loved circuits and Circuit People "You know what? I can help you. I can get... Everyone back. You're holding an extremely fragile pacifist time stone, Stephen Strange, and 14000605 rebooting game admit it. Now, we're goona pull ourselves together, fix that little sailboat and get back to Earth. We'll figure it out, won't we? I can do this. There's always a way. You have my word."

Nebula says, "you don't know the power of my father. " She walks Tony toward the ship. "Thor told us about his friends on earth. Sometimes you live up to your reputation. "

"Oh? What did that alien from the Norse myth say about me because I speak modern English instead of Thou Thee Thy? "

The stone he had chosen for the Sorcerer Supreme was as difficult as Stephen Strange himself, Wise, sharp, hard to get along with. Maybe he was holding on to it too hard, as if to prove that something was still out there. Tony felt a small amount of blood slowly oozing out of his palm. He was bleeding from too many places, it is not a big deal. But the skin on his palm was more sensitive to the temperature, and he thought he was made of steel, for the things that ran through his veins were still so warm.

Hope that Titan doesn't have microbes, either. But the environment was good enough for him, Peter, and Stephen to fight Thanos, so the hopefully thing trans to the microbes on Titan and the humans on Earth weren't compatible. Without the only doctor, infection would be a problem.

Stephen Strange, you better be right. Smurfette and I are gonna make it. Back to Earth in time to fix everything.

Tony Stark is really counting on you to be right.


End file.
